Editor’s Note: There are a number of documents embedded here, so please be patient as the entire article loads up.We will be adding some additional information to this article late Wednesday, May 16 PM – early Thursday, May 17 AM, so please check back if you visit between those times.

The purpose of a home rule charter is to enable a city to be self-governing as to matters of local concern. Stated another way, a home rule charter city is independent of state law with respect to strictly local matters. But, as to matters of state concern, state law controls over provisions of the city's charter. In this respect, a city's charter functions with respect to state government very much the same way state constitutions function within our federal constitutional system.

Through the charter, a city's inhabitants set up a system of local government, enumerating and delegating to the city certain powers over matters of local concern. If a power with respect to a matter of local concern isn't addressed in the charter, the city simply lacks any authority respecting that matter unless and until it secures the power through amendment of its charter by a vote of the people. But, as stated above, there is an additional limitation upon the powers a charter city may enjoy. Any charter adopted by a city's inhabitants must be "consistent with and subject to the constitution and laws of the state." (Nebraska Constitution, Article XI, Sec. 2.)

Nor are the two Republican members of the Council, who abstained from voting on the ordinance, free from reproach. They based their decision to abstain on the ground that the City Council's lack of authority to legislate with regard to this matter deprived them, as sitting members of the Council, of any authority to vote with respect to it. I find it interesting, however, that both of them voted to approve the AMENDMENT to the ordinance that was voted upon during the same Council session[1. Editor's Note: Following the parallels to the health care "reform" debacle, such as the Nancy Pelosi mention included, it COULD be said that votes by Adam Hornung and Jon Camp for an amendment to "improve" the ordinance is exactly like the Stupak Amendment passed in the house. "Pro-life" Congressmen rationalized their vote for that provision, noting that if they couldn't stop the passage of the bill, they could at least mitigate some damage. However, such rationalizations by elected officials are very short-sighted. Stupak's maneuvering, along with the votes to pass his amendment actually helped to get the health care law passed. In addition, Hornung and Camp, particularly Camp have had at least one prior opportunity to expose the significant problems with Rod Confer's legal opinions but have not chosen to lift a finger. We will elaborate on this point in the next few days.].

A petition drive is currently in progress to allow the people of Lincoln to vote on the ordinance, but time is of the essence. Organizers only have 15 days from the date the ordinance was approved to secure 2500 signatures on referendum petition forms. A very large and motivated crowd of volunteers convened at a local church on Tuesday evening, May 15th, to obtain copies of the referendum petition forms and receive some instruction in how to go about collecting signatures in compliance with the law -- both state and local. Blank petition forms can be printed out at links below. If you intend to collect more than 10 signatures, you'll need to print out two different pages, as noted in the Guidelines set out below.

PLEASE READ AND BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE GUIDELINES BEFORE YOU PRINT ANY FORMS AND ATTEMPT TO COLLECT ANY SIGNATURES. YOUR FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES WILL INVALIDATE ANY SIGNATURES YOU COLLECT.

Each petition form has two pages. Page 1 is entitled "City of Lincoln Referendum Petition" and has space for 10 signatures and signer information. Page 2 has space for 20 additional signatures and signer information.

Your name and information must appear as the FIRST signer on the FIRST page of the petition you are circulating (i.e., on Line # 1, page 1).

You must tell EACH petition signer: "To be eligible to sign the petition, you must be a registered voter within the City of Lincoln."

You must tell EACH petition signer: "This petition is to allow the people of Lincoln to vote on the ordinance that added sexual orientation and gender identity to the protected classes in the city code."

You must read to EACH petition signer the WARNING TO PETITION SIGNERS that appears on the first page of the petition.

You must make sure that EACH petition signer dates, signs, and prints their name and their birth date on the petition.

If you think you will collect enough signatures to fill up all the signature lines on page 1 and page 2 of a single petition form, you may make and use additional copies of a blank petition page 2, BUT the page must be copied or printed out "AS IS" or all signatures will be declared invalid. Any copies of either page 1 or page 2 of the petition form must be made or printed out IN COLOR to include the RED letters at the bottom.

You are responsible to ensure that every sheet you collect with signatures is notarized by a notary public. Notary publics can be secured at banks, real estate agents, or legal/attorney offices.

You must record the sum total of ALL the signatures you have collected at the bottom of EACH PAGE of the petition when signing it before a notary.

You must return your petition immediately once you have finished collecting signatures so referendum drive organizers can begin tabulating.

ALL PETITIONS MUST BE RETURNED BY MAY 28TH @ 5:00 P.M.

There will be individuals watching to make sure you do everything correctly, so be on your guard.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Can a church participate in the petition drive?

Yes. This petition drive doesn't endorse a candidate and is non-partisan. This petition simply asks that the ordinance go to a public vote. Therefore, churches and non-profits can collect signatures if they have petition circulators present the petition.

Can I sign the petition if I have not voted?

Yes. You must be a registered voter in the City of Lincoln, but it is not necessary to have voted.

Can I have an assistant help me collect signatures?

No. Allowing someone else to present the petition to signers will render all signatures invalid.

Do I have to support or oppose the ordinance to sign the petition?

No. The petition is simply about letting Lincoln voters decide the issue instead of the City Council.

What do I do if a signer makes a mistake when he or she is signing the form?

If a signer makes an error in signing the petition form (e.g., by misspelling a name or street address or by writing an incorrect birth date or house number), have the signer

draw a line through the entire signature line on which the mistake occurred (much like you would void a check you've written in error);

place his or her initials next to the entire signature line that has just been crossed out; and

then sign and complete the petition information accurately on the line immediately below the one where the error occurred.

Can I collect signatures outside a store or shopping center?

If you want to collect signatures on the private property of any business, which includes the parking lot and the approach to the business' doors as well as inside the business itself, you must first ask and secure the business' permission to do so. Please politely accept NO for an answer, if that is the answer you receive in response. If you obtain permission to collect signatures at a business:

DO NOT obstruct the entry to and exit from the business,

DO NOT persist in efforts to obtain a signature from someone who is unwilling to engage in discussion with you and/or sign the petition

DO NOT otherwise annoy, unnecessarily detain, or argue with customers or employees of the business

DOWNLOADABLE / PRINTABLE DOCUMENTS:

NOTE: The embedded PDF versions you see here have been uploaded to our account on Scribd.com. If you do not have a Scribd.com account you may not be able to print them, so if you don't have an account, use the DIRECT DOWNLOAD links provided.

PETITION FORMS

CITY OF LINCOLN REFERENDUM PETITION - PAGE 1

CITY OF LINCOLN REFERENDUM PETITION - PAGE 2

Effects of the new ordinance, handouts:

Since these document embeds really slow the page down, we're only including one embed of the three handouts about the effects of the ordinance here. Rather than an embed for the other two, a link to the document on Scribd has been provided.

Note that all of the links, below, lead to PDF documents. We will be uploading these items to the Scribd account as well for people who don't have their computer / browser set up to open PDFs on their screen without downloading. Once they are uploading, we will update this article.

WANT TO SIGN A PETITION BUT NEED SOMEONE TO BRING IT TO YOU?

The information we're requesting will only be used for the purpose of arranging for you to sign a petition. (If you would like to sign up for emails from us, please see the "Contact" link in the upper right hand corner.)

Your Name (required)

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Your address::(required)

Please leave this field empty.

Please select your best times for a circulator to bring a petition for you to sign:Weekdays onlyWeekends onlyWeekdays and Weekends OKMorningAfternoonEvening

Please use the space below to provide details, if needed regarding your address (i.e. your house is hard to find), to write any additional comments or to ask any questions:

Please confirm that you are a human and not a spambot by solving this simple math equation. Thanks ;-)

21+6=?

VOLUNTEERS WANTED:

IF you are considering circulating petitions and can volunteer to do some signature collecting by taking the petition TO people, please use the contact form below to let us know that you are willing.

Thank you for your willingness to help out.
The information we're requesting will only be used for the purposes of coordinating this petition effort.

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We are trying to divide up the city to reduce the driving necessary for volunteers. Please tell us where you live in Lincoln by major cross streets or commonly known areas, for example, 56th & South, Bethany, near Southview Mall, etc., so that we may direct requests received based on location:(required)

Please leave this field empty.

Please select your availability to take a petition:Weekdays onlyWeekends onlyWeekdays and Weekends OKMorningAfternoonEvening

Please use the space below to write any additional comments or to ask any questions:

Please confirm that you are a human and not a spambot by solving this simple math equation. Thanks ;-)100+1=?

Comments

So, if you are a religious organization you are entitled to certain exemptions, but if you are a religious individual you can check your convictions at the the city limits before entering?

Perhaps a logical next step is to make religious individuals into a protected class as well? You know, dueling classes.

As far as Hornung and Camp, their abstention looks and smells like a decision based on political calculation, not conviction. That’s a mighty thin fence you boys are straddlin’, best be careful you don’t slip!